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Quebec Nordiques

I was about 10 Foogos deep before I thought to launch a blog about it. Previously, the main exposure was on my Facebook page and online portfolio at mojoswork.com. So over the next few weeks – or more likely, months – I’ll arbitrarily dig deep and revisit some of the preexisting Foogos to explain how they came about. Since I’m still a little nostalgic after Saturday’s Hartford Foogo, let’s stay in the Adams Division and play with the Nordiques.The Quebec Nordiques, like the Hartford Whalers, are currently defunct, having relocated to greener pastures. (In Hartford’s case, that may be literal, since they packed the RV and headed to Carolina, but for the former Nords, it’s probably only metaphorical greener pastures, since they’re up in Denver now.) Another similarity between the teams is that they were brought into the NHL when the old WHA folded in 1979, along with the would-be great Edmonton Oilers (5 Stanley Cups from 1984-1990), and the once-great Winnipeg Jets. (Winnipeg won 3 WHA titles, most in league history, did nothing in nearly two NHL decades, then moved to Phoenix.)

The final product.

When I was growing up, the Nords were the doormat of the Adams Division, a few years removed from boasting the imposing trio of the Stastny brothers. I never saw Marion or Anton play, but have fond memories of Peter, the best of the siblings, centering middling talent in New Jersey for a few years. All those seasons in the gutter eventually paid off for Quebec, having drafted guys like Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan and Joe Sakic. When they swung disgruntled top draft pick Eric Lindros to Philadelphia for Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci and spare parts, it marked the beginning of a renaissance, one that loyal Quebecois sadly wouldn’t witness first hand, as the team moved after the 1995 season, were rechristened the Colorado Avalanche, and promptly won the Stanley Cup their first year in the Mile High City.

If its any consolation, that ’96 championship would never have occured had the team stayed. The catalyst for their Cup run, goalie Patrick Roy, was traded to Colorado from the Montreal Canadiens midseason, but that deal would have never gone through if the Avalanche were still Montreal’s next-door neighbors/rivals in Quebec City.

There’s additional consolation for nostalgic Nordiques fans, because none of us had to endure the horrid re-branding campaign that would have accompanied the 1995-96 season. I imagine I’d use barf and vomit and puke to design that Foogo. Instead, I used this:

INGREDIENTS

1 box of generic fruity Cheerios ($2.99)

Marshmallow Fluff ($2.99)

Half gallon of Skim Milk (FREE!)

a bowl ($7.99)

PROCEDURE

This piece was the most prop-heavy one to date. For starters, I cut a piece of foamcore to fit within the 16″ bowl. This was the base that would hold the logo together. While I prepped that, there was the tedious job of separating blue and red cereal rings from orange, yellow, purple and green. Once both of those task were done, I could finally get to work.

I “glued” the bootleg Cheerios together onto the circular piece of foam using Marshmallow Fluff. Since I had every intention of adding milk to further give the effect of a real bowl of cereal, it was necessary to figure out a way to keep the O’s together as a unit. That Fluff is also white made it an easy choice.

Once the logo was set to my liking, I placed the entire disc into the bowl and added milk. I even quickly designed a faux cereal box for the photo shoot, simply titled QuebecOis. The all-French label included phrases like “Part of a balanced breakfast” and “26 essential vitamins and minerals.” The number “26” was in honor of the aforementioned Peter Stastny.

JUST DESSERTS

Why was the milk free? I used the milk from the office refrigerator. (I typically drink a half-gallon of office milk every day.)

This was the first of several Foogos created at work (but not DURING work).

If you’re interested in saving money, take the time to compare generic brands with big-name labels. The fruity Shop-Rite brand O’s had IDENTICAL nutritional value as Fruity Cheerios, at HALF the price!

I stored the leftover Fluff – about 4/5 of a 16 oz tub – on its side in my desk. A week or so later, I opened the drawer and realized that the lid wasn’t securely fastened. To my surprise, the entirety of the Fluff spilled into the bottom drawer of the desk. I scooped out as much as was humanly possible and ate it. (I HATE wasting food. Even if it means terrible stomach cramps.) The residue is still in the desk.

Oh, and I agree with you about the updated Nordiques logo. Why they were all set to use that logo, I’ll never understand. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending how you view it) the move to Colorado spared fans from that inferior logo.